Fingerpointing continues over chaos at Denver Republican Assembly

More than a week after the Denver County GOP Assembly, it’s still difficult to sort out what led to what one Republican called a “descent into madness.”

Florence Sebern said she unwittingly sparked the brouhaha that led to claims that Ron Paul supporters were trying to take over when she approached a floor microphone to ask that the assembly adopt a calendar that included taking a lunch break.

She said the group Denver Republican Women had arranged for five businesses to sell food to the 650 or so Republicans expected to show up at the assembly because a lunch break had been planned.

But district captain Steve Brown argued what happened was a “militant minority attempt to take control of the assembly through use of these tactics of disruption, accusation and intimidation.”

“The argument was that the new rules should be adopted so we could have a lunch hour, but the real reason was not that at all,” he said. “It seems rather that it was designed to draw out the assembly meeting time out so long that most other delegates would leave either in disgust or out of boredom, leaving the remaining assembly to go onto elections which would feature mostly their own supporters.”

The Denver GOP met March 10 at West High School in what was the liveliest and most controversial county assembly so far this election season — although the El Paso GOP assembly this weekend could be mighty interesting.

The county Republican and Democratic parties have different rules on how to handle assemblies, but generally delegates are chosen for congressional assemblies and the state conventions. Platform resolutions are considered.

Sebern said she approached a floor microphone to talk about the lunch hour, but it was not turned on. She said she kept raising her hand and saying “point of information.”

“It was not rude. It was not disruptive,” she said. “It was my 21-year-old son who first started yelling. Colin was a delegate and he was the first one to shout out, ‘Let her be heard!’”

Others joined in, including Republicans who support Rick Santorum, Sebern said.

She said she later talked to her son, a Paul supporter, about his behavior. “When you’re 21 your sense of justice is very fresh,” she said. “I can’t chide him too much.”

“I stand by my commentary that the meeting descended into madness, and that if the behavior exhibited was a harbinger for the future this story will continue to develop,” Maher said.

“I truly appreciate all the hard work of Ms. Sebern and others, and look forward to pulling together to defeat Barack Obama in November,” she added.

Denver GOP party officials said some Republicans, mostly Paul supporters, wanted to elect delegates from countywide instead of electing them from House district boundaries. They also wanted to change how the results were counted.

“A small, loud group attempted to hijack the assembly and trample on the rights of those who took time out of their busy lives to participate in the political process,” Danny Stroud, chairman of the Denver County GOP said.

He said the rules for choosing delegates were in place before he took over as county chair in February 2011.

This is a national pattern from Ron Paul supporters. Perhaps Florence Sebern’s attempts at extending the lunch hour were not part of the overall plan; however, this is a clear pattern that has emerged across the country from Ron Paul supporters – see the disruptions in GA, NV, and, just this weekend, in Missouri.

FoxnewsColorado

The idea that a group can come in, play by the rules, and consolidate power, in a environment of voter apathy is appalling. Just because Paul and his supporters understand the delegate process doesn’t give them the right to take advantage of those who don’t. They should have given the party bosses the heads up so that the estabilshment could be ready to confront these rule followers. Grass-roots movements have no place in the party.

Ron Paul’s supporters wonder why the rest of the party won’t take them seriously and this is why. These rules and by-laws were in place prior to the caucuses ever taking place and ought to be respected. Their candidate lost the election. It’s not some conspiracy against them, they just didn’t have the votes. Rather than respecting the results they try to disrupt the process.

Colorado law as well as existing rules and by-laws within the Republican Party itself generally restrict changing the rules during even numbered years and many of the rules dictating delegate selection were in place long before the 2012 primary process had even started.

If Ron Paul’s supporters don’t like the rules then they can work within the system to change them. I’m not sure about Denver, but in my county (Larimer), in addition to electing delegates for county, state, CD, and judicial district conventions, we also elected members of our precinct caucus to the county’s Republican Committee. Those members play a significant role in drafting the rules and they also pick members of the state Republican Committee who draft rules for the state party. If Ron Paul supporters don’t like the rules, they are welcome to get more involved in the party and change them.

ColoradoRepublicanParty

Thanks Kris. I agree that having the rules in place beforehand is a huge help. Unfortunately, If someone has a nefarious reason for asking for a lunch break, then the parlimentarian has a duty to disregard Robert’s rules of order and not recognize that individual (regardless of when the rules were in place). We all understand that “lunch break” is code for “take over”. It has to be addressed (or in this case ignored) otherwise, the situation might appear as a democratic process.

I do disagree with one point: “Ron Paul’s supporters wonder why the rest of the party won’t take them seriously and this is why. These rules and by-laws were in place prior to the caucuses ever taking place and ought to be respected. Their candidate lost the election.”

Ron Paul hasn’t lost any Colorado elections. He lost the non-binding straw poll. The caucus system is based off of delegates and how they vote. This is why the Republican establishment is up in arms (and why you Kris are so confused).

You have a candidate that is following the rules in a way that could get them elected (even though none of the media outlets or party bosses want him as the candidate). While he could be successful, their is the question of, “Is it moral for somone to follow the rules and to get the nomination to a party in which the leaders so clearly want someone else?” I don’t have the answer to this.

…Kris I strongly suggest that you review the delegate process in Colorado and trust me when I say that Mitt Romney has not been elected president yet (it will all make sense when you study the delegate process and election law.)

Real Redhead

Descent into madness? Hardly. More like a desperate attempt to “make it so.”

This is the statement I gave to Lynn Bartels:

“I was there, as an unpledged delegate
and chairman of the committee of Denver Republican Women who worked
to provide aspects to the Denver GOP Assembly. Chairman Stroud
was given a written proposal by DRW, which he accepted, in writing.
We worked extremely hard to provide set-up for registration (and
student liaisons to assist with registration itself), exhibitor area
(18 organizations, candidates, campaigns, issues), delegate bags
(filled with 26 inserts from organizations, candidates, campaigns and
issues), lunch trucks from our small business community, and a
welcoming, positive, enthusiastic atmosphere in the lobby area. We
worked on all of it, based on the proposed program which allowed for
1 hour lunch. That hour would have allowed 700+ people to eat, visit
the exhibitors, enjoy the camaraderie of being a Republican in Denver
and encourage all of us (especially those new to the process) in our
civic responsibility of engaging in the process.

At the Denver GOP Executive Committee
meeting on March 6th, Chairman Stroud changed the proposed program
and rules. The Executive Committee (Chairman, officers of the
Denver GOP, and district captains) did not vote on the new program
and rules. Chairman Stroud simply implemented it.

My 21-year-old son, who was a
delegate from our precinct, was probably the first one to shout out.
He was very upset. He’s young and he’s been raised to be a
gentleman. He saw Chairman Stroud treating a delegate — asking for
a proper parliamentary point of information — with disrespect and
disregard. It had nothing to do with the Ron Paul campaign,
although some of those supporters joined in the shouting.
Frankly, so did others who supported other candidates – friends
in District 9 supporting Santorum, among them.

The “new”
program and rules made the delegation grind through the business of
the day, with no breaks, no lunch. The “new” program and rules
resulted in the exhibitors not having face time and our small
businesses losing money. I had an obligation to stand up, as a
delegate myself, and as the one responsible to those exhibitors and
lunch truck owners, and ask the assembly to decide which set of
program and rules THEY wanted — the original rules, or the new rules. It was the delegate’s assembly —
not mine and not Chairman Stroud’s.”
It simply doesn’t matter to the leadership in the Denver GOP that two of the five small businesses invited to provide food service LOST MONEY. It doesn’t matter if a delegate missed a vote because there were no breaks in the 6-hour-schedule. Welcome to the party of “sit down and shut up.”

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.